WARSAW, Poland - Poland is in negotiations with EU officials in a bid to obtain reduced quotas for cod fishing spread over a larger number of years.

Polish Agriculture Minister Kazimierz Plocke said he believes an accord could be reached with the European Commission that would satisfy both sides, Radio Polonia reported Friday.

Warsaw and Brussels officials, each displaying different figures, are arguing about how much Polish fishermen had exceeded their quotas for cod fishing in the eastern Baltic Sea this year.

The EC says Polish fishermen exceeded the quotas three times, while Poland claims the figure is considerably exaggerated.

On Sept. 16, the commission imposed a ban on fishing by Polish boats until year's end, but they defied it and continued catching cod in the Baltic.

The commission wants to reduce Poland's fishing quotas in the next three years. Warsaw is trying to negotiate the reduced quotas over five years, in which case fishermen would be less severely hurt, the radio said.